Work has started on creating the second and final section of an all weather footpath for pedestrians and cyclists, linking Kirkby Stephen town centre with the station on the popular Settle-Carlisle railway.
The work, funded by Cumbria County Council, started last year when phase 1 involved creating a footpath along the busy A685 over the former Stainmore Railway to Victoria Park. The current project involves creating a path from the station approach road through fields to Halfpenny House where it joins the lane from Wharton Hall.
The path will be finished with a hard gravel type surface which will drain freely and not be muddy in wet weather but will be sympathetic to the surrounding countryside. Similar material has been used successfully around Stenkrith and Hartley on the Viaducts and poetry paths.
Andrew Griffiths, who with his wife Rachel are caretakers of Kirkby Stephen station, said “This is great news both for residents who want to let the train take the strain, and for the many visitors who arrive by rail and are left wondering how to get down into town. Until now, since the local bus was axed, they had either to take their lives into the hands and walk down the main road, or squelch through muddy fields. Not much of a welcome to Kirkby Stephen! Well done to Cumbria County Council for seeing this vital project through, it will be a real boost to the tourist economy of the town and a vital lifeline for those local people without a car.”
Work starts on the new footpath.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Morris